Anything Masala

From OSR

I adapted this from several recipes for chicken tikka masala and chana masala. Here is how to use it:

Chana masala: Cook chickpeas or lentils and stir them into this sauce. Simmer them together to meld the flavors.

Lamb, goose, chicken, whatever masala: Prepare the sauce, then add the meat while it simmers down.

Chicken tikka masala: Prepare chicken tikka. If using boneless cuts, cut them up and simmer the pieces with the masala sauce. If using bone-in cuts, just put the whole pieces in and simmer them with the sauce. When the chicken is done, stir in some cream.

Ingredients

Spices:

cayenne (to taste)

1/4 teaspoon paprika

turmeric

Masala:

1/2 tablespoon whole cumin

1/2 tablespoon whole corriander

Temper:

1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon whole cumin

small piece of cinnamon

1 bay leaf

2 whole cloves

1 black cardamom pod, bruised

Sauce base:

1/2 cup onion, chopped very fine

ginger

2 cloves garlic

chopped hot peppers like serrano or jalepeno

tomato puree, fresh or canned

Directions

Get the spices ready by combining them in a bowl. Heat a dry pan and toast the masala ingredients (the cumin and corriander) until fragrant, and then grind. Add this to the spices in the bowl.

Put the temper ingredients in a pan and saute in oil. Add all of the sauce base ingredients except the tomato puree, and saute for 8-10 minutes. Add the spices and tomato puree and saute a bit more.

Add the meat or chickpeas at this point, and cook until done. Add cream at the end if desired.